


RenAo: Recovery

by LittleMissPandaHat



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Recovery, RenAo Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3790612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissPandaHat/pseuds/LittleMissPandaHat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's movie night and it's Ren's turn to pick out a movie. He decides on a horror film that ends up scaring him pretty bad, but Aoba's there to make sure that everything will be okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	RenAo: Recovery

Tonight was movie night and it was Ren’s turn to decide on a movie. So far, Aoba noted, it seemed that Ren preferred comedy and action over other types of movies. So when Ren decided to pull up a horror movie on Aoba’s coil, he was a bit surprised. “Hm? You want to watch this type of movie?” he asked. Ren shrugged a bit as both he and Aoba got comfortable on the bed. “I just read some good reviews of it, that’s all. The plot seemed interesting too. Do you not want to watch it?” he asked, being as courteous as ever.

“No it’s fine,I was just surprised. I thought you would've put on a comedy or something but this is fine too.” Aoba replied as he settled himself on Ren’s chest and Ren put his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Okay. Well, let’s watch it then.” he said as he started the movie.

 

* * *

 

 

To say Ren was scared was definitely an understatement; He was absolutely _mortified_.

The movie started off well enough. It was pretty depressing at first, as it started off with a mother who had lost her children. Ren could tell that Aoba was pretty into it as he never quipped in with any commentary like he normally did when they watched a film together. He wasn’t too interested in the first twenty minutes as it only provided the background, but then things started to get a little freaky.

The first thing that put him on edge was the jump scare. The mother heard a noise somewhere in her house and decided to check it out. While she was walking down the hallway, out of nowhere, a ghost with no eyes or hair and pale skin popped out in front of her. At least, that’s what he thought it looked like, because it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

That made both he and Aoba jump, and he couldn’t even focus on the fact that Aoba was clinging onto him and cuddling closer as they got scared. But as the scene continued he calmed down enough to rub his partner’s shoulder reassuringly, which ended up putting himself more at ease than it did for Aoba.

Then he got a very good look at the ghost in one scene where the mother was trapped with it in the room of a hospital. An almost child like body with the same hollow eye sockets and a mouth that constantly gaped. It growled in an inhuman voice and began moving in a grotesque manner towards the mother.

Ren decided that he did not like the ghost or the movie at all and was crestfallen when Aoba only paused it to use the bathroom and not to ask him if it was okay to end it. For the rest of the movie he decided on looking at anything but it and willed himself to fall asleep. It was a long night and he did not care to see how it ended and didn’t want to know anything more about it.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been a week since movie night and Ren had been acting strange. The most notable odd behaviors being his constant avoidance of talking about the movie, leaving the lights on even during the day, running down the hallway when Aoba asked him to turn the hallway’s light off, and even sleeping in Aoba’s bed. Not that he hadn’t before but they tried to keep from doing that as Ren more often than not found himself on the floor as his partner was a wild sleeper. But now, it was Aoba who woke only to find himself half on the bed and the floor. Groaning, he pulled his torso up onto the bed and glared at Ren’s sleeping form until he realized that he was still moving and even speaking in his sleep.

He decided it was best to wake him up when he began calling and reaching out for Aoba. “Ren! Wake up I’m right here.” he said groggily as he shook his boyfriend’s shoulder. After a few more times of trying to coax him into waking up Ren woke gasping and his eyes shot open and looked to Aoba and began to feel the waves of relief wash over him as he looked at his face.

Aoba sighed and pulled him into his lap and began rubbing his hair. “Do you want to tell me what’s been going on with you the past week? You’ve been acting weird and I’ve been waking up more often than not on the wrong side of the bed. Literally, I thought you liked the end of the bed.” Aoba said as he felt Ren’s heartbeat slow. Ren huffed a bit and- was he pouting?

Curious, Aoba leaned forward to look at Ren’s face closer though he couldn’t see much in the dark. “Ren.” he said softly calling out his name. But that only seemed to make him twist in Aoba’s lap and bury his face there, wrapping his arms around his partner’s waist.

Giggling softly at Ren’s almost childlike behavior, he began to run a hand through his hair again. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that the movie we watched last week scared you pretty bad.” he said in a teasing tone. When Ren flinched a bit and gave a muffled response, his suspicion was confirmed.

Laughing softly he pulled Ren up for a hug. “C’mere you big baby.” he said grinning. Ren huffed and turned his head to the side. Aoba kissed the side of his head and brought him close for a tight hug. “It’s okay to be afraid sometimes. We’re only human, right? And I can’t blame you for being scared, it was a scary movie. Sometimes when I wash my hair and close my eyes in the shower, I think the ghost is right behind me and open my eyes way too quick! But at the end of the day, it’s just a scary movie and I’m certain this would never happen in real life.” Aoba said, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

Ren nodded his head and rested his head on Aoba’s chest. But still...

“How long will the anxiety last? I haven’t been able to function properly by myself in the dark and it gets hard when you get home from work late... I hate feeling like this over something so trivial.” he said glumly. Aoba thought for a moment before he responded. “Well, it’s like when we were little kids. We’ll be afraid of the dark and other silly things until we learn that there’s nothing to be afraid of. You still have so much to learn even if you’re my age; and that’s okay. Would you like for me to stay by your side more often until the anxiety fades away?”

It was then that Ren was caught by surprise. “I-I couldn’t inconvenience you like that. It’s like you said, it’s just a scary movie that gave me a little scare and I think I’m blowing this out of proportion.” he said, huffing at his own cowardice. Aoba only shook his head and offer a smile in the dark room.

“It’s okay Ren, I’ll just help you through your anxiety. It won’t be like I’m holding your hand the entire time, I know you're still a man that can stand on his own. But sometimes we need help and that’s okay. I can’t do too much about working late except for maybe calling you to keep you company when it’s dark, but you're brave and I know you’ll be okay.” Once Aoba stopped talking, he simply nodded his head and yawned. “Could we go to sleep now? I do not mean to cut our conversation short but I’m still a little tired.” he said as he rubbed at his eyes.

“Of course. But I want my spot back! You’re like a living furnace and it gets hot when I have my back pressed against you.” Aoba said, huffing at the end of his sentence. Ren gave a low hum and tapped his finger against his chin. “I am also quite fond of that spot too, as it reassures me that there is only a wall behind me. But since you don’t seem willing to give up on that, how about this: Who ever gets there first gets the spot beside the wall.”

Before Aoba could process what Ren said, Ren pulled himself off of Aoba and moved quickly to the spot beside the wall. “W-Wait, I wasn’t ready! No fair!” Aoba whined as he made his way over to Ren to fight for his spot back. “You can always be the little spoon so that way you have something against your back and I can but my back on the wall!” Aoba tried offering as he straddled Ren and tried to wrestle his way between the wall and his boyfriend.

“Oh? But I thought I was a living furnace. I do not believe you want me to be against you at all.” he said grinning, being difficult only for the sake of making Aoba pout. Also, because messing with Aoba and talking to him seemed to chase away his trivial anxieties for the time being. “Ren!” Aoba huffed as he tried re-claiming his spot in vain. The rest of the night was spent like this until both Ren and Aoba fell asleep with Aoba on top of Ren.

The next few weeks Aoba spent reassuring Ren when he was in the dark by offering him words of encouragement when he needed to turn off the light in the way and even showered with him. He also got him to start turning off the lights in their home lest Tae began drilling them on the importance of keeping the light bill as low as possible. Then, on the days Aoba had to work late, he called Ren on his coil to make sure everything was okay at home and to make light conversation to keep Ren distracted from being scared again.

* * *

 

 

Eventually, Ren learned to overcome a majority of his anxieties and even the fear of the ghost that scared him so much at first. So when movie night rolled around again and it was his turn to pick, Ren decided that they should re watch the movie that scared him so much at first. After making sure he’d be okay with watching it again, Aoba settled next to Ren on the bed with some popcorn. This time, Aoba couldn’t help but cut in with commentary like he normally did and began pointing out flaws and plot holes in the movie.

Ren on the other hand watched the movie intently despite the jump scares catching him off guard. Though some scenes caused him to go a little tense, Aoba would rub his hand reassuringly and smile at him.Asking if it was okay to keep watching the movie or if it would be best to stop where they were. But Ren made it through the whole movie okay and Aoba gave him a big kiss on the cheek. “You were so brave and I’m proud of you Ren.” He said, smiling. Ren, blushing and grinning a little sheepishly let out a small laugh. “This was no amazing feat Aoba, I just got over my fear of the movie.” He said, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Mm, maybe not to you, but this just shows how much you've grown and I can’t help but feel proud of you. Like a parent watching their child walk for the first time.” Aoba replied snuggling closer to Ren. “At any rate, it’s time for bed! I have work in the morning and it’s not healthy for a growing man like yourself to stay up so late.” Aoba said, smiling at his boyfriend. He decided that the now finished bowl of popcorn could wait until morning to be brought downstairs as he and Ren changed into pajamas and raced one another to the bed, wrestling still for the spot by the wall.

In the end Ren won, and Aoba decided that he’ll let him get away with this just this once. And he also decided that he’d look into getting a bigger bed when both he and Ren woke up on the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> I can also be found on tumblr at missy-mints-prints. This fic is my first fanfiction I've ever written for DRAMAtical Murder despite being trash for so long, so if they seem ooc, I apologize and I'll work on writing them better in the future.


End file.
